Waco siege 20 years on: Picture timeline of Texas massacre which killed 76 men, women and children Twenty years ago this week, the 50-day Waco siege ended violently when fire engulfed the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas The Waco siege ended 20 years ago this week, with a blaze that killed 76 people including two pregnant women and over 20 children.The siege began on February 28, 1993, when the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) attempted to execute a search warrant at Mount Carmel Center ranch, a property of the religious group Branch Davidians in Waco, Texas.The government suspected an extreme religious leader David Koresh of hoarding firearms and developing drugs.The raid resulted in an intense gun battle, which last two hours and killed four agents and six Davidians.The FBI then launched a long-term siege, attempting to negotiate with Koresh and force him to surrender his property.The siege ended on April 19, 50 days after the initial raid, when the FBI launched a final assault was launched against Koresh.Three fires broke out in the building, killing 76 men women and children, including sect leader Koresh.A total of 82 people died as a result of the Waco siege.

Waco Texas explosion: Watch the terrifying moment fertiliser factory explodes - video Petrified young girl deafened by blast begs dad to "please get out of here" after pair capture fireball on camera Warning: Some people may find the video distressingThis is the terrifying moment a massive explosion ripped through a small farming town in Texas killing up to 70 people and injuring 100.The blast - which could be heard 45 miles away - was caught on camera by a father and daughter who were filming the initial fire at the fertiliser plant in West, near to Waco, from their truck.The dad is explaining to his daughter that the factory "should collapse" in the fire when the explosion happens.Dropping the camera, he yells: "Are you alright?"His petrified daughter tells him: "I can't hear. I can't hear. Please get out of here. Please get out of here. Please get out of here. Dad, please get out of here. I can't hear anything."The sound of the truck reversing at speed and driving off can then be heard.Up to 70 people are feared dead and 100 injured in the blast which happened shortly before 8pm local time.

Waco Texas explosion: Up to 70 people feared dead and 100 injured after massive blast at fertiliser factory Up to 70 people are feared dead and 100 injured after a massive blast at a fertiliser factory in Texas.The explosion at West Fertlizer in the town of West, near to Waco, destroyed numerous buildings and homes including a nursing home and an apartment block of 50 flats.Firefighters were tackling a blaze at the factory when the explosion happened shortly before 8pm local time.The blast - which sent a fireball shooting into the air - could be heard 45 miles away.Several people are still feared trapped i buildings and there are unconfirmed reports that some firefighters are missing.Emergency services have said the death toll could go up "by the minute".West's Emergency Medical Services Director Dr George Smith told a local TV station that firefighters had told him that as many as 60 or 70 people were dead.The fire is still raging in parts, but fire crews have stopped tackling it in case there is another explosion.Chief executive of Hillcrest Baptist Medical Center in Waco, Glenn A Robinson, told CNN that his hospital had received 66 injured people including 38 who were seriously hurt.He said the injuries included blast injuries, orthopaedic injuries, large wounds and a lot of lacerations and cuts, and the hospital had set up a hotline for families of the victims to get information.McLennan County Sheriff Parnell McNamara said: "It's a lot of devastation. I've never seen anything like this. It looks like a war zone with all the debris."Aerial footage showed fires still smouldering in the ruins of the plant and in several surrounding buildings, and people being treated for injuries on the floodlit local football field, which had been turned into a staging area for emergency crews.Resident Debby Marak said that when she finished teaching her religion class, she noticed a lot of smoke coming from the area across town near the plant, which is near a nursing home.She said she drove over to see what was happening, and that when she got out of her car two boys ran toward her screaming that the authorities told them to leave because the plant was going to explode."It was like being in a tornado," the 58-year-old said. "Stuff was flying everywhere. It blew out my windshield. It was like the whole earth shook."More than two hours after the blast, there were still fires smouldering in what was left of the plant and others burning in nearby buildings.Department of Public Safety troopers were using their squad cars to transport those injured by the blast, Gayle Scarbrough, a spokeswoman for the department's Waco office, told television station KWTX.She said six helicopters were also en route to help out.American Red Cross crews from across Texas were being sent to the site, the organisation said.Red Cross spokeswoman Anita Foster said the group was working with emergency management officials in West to find a afe shelter for residents displaced from their homes.Country music legend Willie Nelson sent out his prayers after the blast hit near where he grew up."West has been in my backyard all my life," he tweeted. "My heart is praying for the community that we call home."When not on the road touring, Nelson has lived in Austin, Texas, since 1971, but he was born and grew up 120 miles north of the state capital, in Abbott, which is about five miles north of West.

Boston bombing: 'One suspect held and second on the run' after explosion and shootout which killed policeman Dramatic development comes hours after FBI release photos and video of two suspects in the Boston Marathon bombings Shootout: Officers draw their guns A police officer has been shot dead on a university campus just outside of Boston sparking a massive gun and explosives battle with two suspects.The dramatic developments came hours after the FBI released photos and video of two suspects in the Boston Marathon bombings, urging the public to help identify the men but warning people not to approach them.A manhunt for the gunmen was launched following the shooting at the Cambridge campus of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).Moments later reports came in of a carjacking and police became involved in a chase.Terrified residents reported hearing a volley of gun shots and several explosions as police ordered them to stay inside.Live news reports said police officers were dealing with explosives left on the ground after the chase in the Watertown area, just west of Cambridge where MIT is located and eight miles to the west of central Boston.Police were told to switch off mobile phones and other electronic devices for fear of setting off explosives. Fatal: A police officer was shot in the gun battle and later died Getty Suspect: A man lies on the ground CNN TV footage showed armed officers surrounding a suspect lying on the groundDozens of officers and National Guard members were in the area and television outlets reported that gunfire and explosions had been heard.Authorities were calling for somebody to get on the ground and put their hands up and a loud thud was heard after someone shouted "fire in the hole".Reporters were told to move away from the scene.A police officer told a reporter: "If you want to live, turn off your cell phone."Police are not yet officially linking the developments to the Boston Marathon bombings but they occurred hours after the images of the bomb suspects were released.Cambridge police and the Middlesex District Attorney's office said the dead officer was responding to a report of a disturbance when he was shot multiple times.He died in hospital.State police spokesman Dave Procopio said the shooting took place about 10.30pm local time (3.30 UK time) outside an MIT building.About 11,000 people attend the prestigious university. The campus website said police were sweeping the area and urged people to stay indoors.The bomb suspects' images came from surveillance cameras near the explosion sites shortly before the blasts near the marathon finish line.FBI Agent Richard DesLauriers said: "We consider them to be armed and extremely dangerous."Monday's blasts killed three and injured more than 180.

Luckiest man alive survives Boston Marathon bomb AND the Texas factory explosion He had finished running the marathon just seconds before the huge explosions near the finish line on Monday Marathon effort: Joe Berti A dad had TWO miracle escapes after surviving the Boston Marathon bomb AND the Texas fertiliser factory blast.Joe Berti had finished running the marathon just seconds before the huge explosions near the finish line on Monday.He escaped unscathed - and so did his wife Amy and their friends who were just 10 yards away from the blast which killed 3 people.Monday's bombings in Boston killed three people and left more than 180 wounded.Amy and a friend were both hit by shrapnel but were relatively unhurt but a woman stood next to them had a leg torn off from the knee down.Dad-of-two Joe said: "I had just run to the finish line and like 30 seconds later I heard the first explosion, and then turned around and saw the smoke."I knew immediately that it was a bomb ... Then the second explosion occurred, and I saw a wave of people running."They left Boston the next day and returned home to Texas, with every hope of getting back to life as normal with their two girls, ages 8 and 11.Joe was heading home from a meeting on Wednesday night when he saw black smoke up ahead to his left.As he drove closer, he saw - and felt - his second explosion in two days while some of the debris landed on his car.The blast in West, near Waco, killed at least five people and injured more than 160.Amy said: "We are just praying for the people who were so much less fortunate than we were."

David Beckham's hotel suite 'at knockdown price of just £1,711 per night' The Imperial Suite is usually £14,544, which pays for a kitchen, three bathrooms and a dining room that seats 12 Spice boy: David Beckham David Beckham negotiated a discount of nearly 90% on his suite at a top Paris hotel, it was claimed yesterday.It is believed he is paying £1,711 a night for his temporary home at the Bristol.The Imperial Suite is usually £14,544, which pays for a kitchen, three bathrooms and a dining room that seats 12.Beckham, 37, who is worth £200million, signed for Paris Saint-Germain in February.There have been claims he is staying in a hotel and giving his football wages to charity to avoid paying French tax.News site purepeople said: “The Spice Boy was offered a nice discount.”PSG’s sporting director Leonardo confirmed Beckham did not pay the “advertised amount” for the hotel.Le Parisien newspaper said the Necker Hospital for Children will soon receive a large sum, paid through PSG.Lawyer Mathieu Le Tacon said: “Presumably, PSG didn’t want to risk this being reclassified as indirect wages.”

Croc shock: Second crocodile on the loose near Spanish holiday resort Officials said footprints found near the resort of Mijas do not match those of the 7ft beast discovered on Monday by a gardener Scary: The last Costa Del Sol SOLARPIX Tourists on the Costa del Sol have been warned a second killer crocodile could be on the loose, days after one was found dead.Officials said footprints found near the resort of Mijas do not match those of the 7ft beast discovered on Monday by a gardener.The man who spotted that one also insisted he had seen another croc.Mijas mayor Angel Nozal said: “We’ve been told the first footprints found do not appear to ­coincide with the dead reptile’s. The search is continuing.”Signs have gone up in the vicinity with the warning in Spanish: “Grave danger. Crocodile on the Loose.” Danger sign: Warning over crocodile SOLARPIX Experts had played down fears other Costa crocs were roaming the area after the one on Monday was found.But they have revised the situation in light of the discovery of the new footprints.The dead reptile, thought to be around 15 years old, was a Nile croc, which are widespread throughout Africa.The one believed to be on the loose may be lurking in lakes around the area of Majada Vieja.The waters are ­overlooked by holiday apartments where hundreds of Brits stay. .

Actor Pierce Brosnan and singer Julio Iglesias have summer homes there.Police believe the dead crocodile was being kept as an exotic pet by an owner who grew tired of the beast and turned it loose.Officers were last night still trying to find who it belonged to. Council officials said they plan to seek permission to stuff the crocodile so they can display it to tourists.

Boston Marathon bombings: Resident cheats death in suspect shootout by hiding in his wardrobe Bullet hits man's chair seconds after he takes cover in bedroom Kristian Tuinzing talks to BBC News about Watertown shooting A man has told how he cheated death in the Boston bombing shootout - by hiding in his wardrobe. Kristian Tuinzing was sitting in his bedroom when he heard the sound of gunfire outside the window of his home in Watertown, near Boston. He hit the ground and hid in his wardrobe while police exchanged fire between two men, suspected of being involved in the Boston Marathon bombings.When he emerged after the shooting had ended he spotted a bullet hole in his wall and through the chair where he had been sitting moments earlier.He told the BBC: "During the exchange I got on to the ground and went and hid in the closet. "When I came back out there was actually a hole in the wall right through a calendar and through my chair where I had been sitting. "The slug came to rest just at the foot of my bed. "I heard a sound and thought something had pinged off my window or something...it was a little more severe. "It was panic, pure panic. I got into my closet and just stayed there. "There was an exchange of gunfire that felt like it lasted for eternity and the explosions only started at the end. "It has been traumatic. I'm still shaking a little."

Boston Marathon bombing suspects identified as brothers from Chechnya as manhunt Reports name Tamerlan Tsarnaev as suspect killed in shootout and his brother, 19-year-old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who is still on the run A Boston Marathon bombing suspect killed in a shootout with police earlier today has been identified as Tamerlan Tsarnaev.The 26-year-old is believed to be the brother of second suspect, 19-year-old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who is still on the run following a fierce gun and explosives battle with police in Watertown, Massachusetts.Their uncle, Ruslan Tsarni of Montgomery Village, Maryland, confirmed their names and said that the brothers, from Chechnya, lived together near Boston and have been in the United States for about a decade.Russia's North Caucasus region has been plagued by an Islamic insurgency stemming from separatist wars in Chechnya.Militants from Chechnya and other restive regions in Russia's volatile North Caucasus have targeted Moscow and other areas with bombings and hostage-takings, but the allegations of involvement in the Boston Marathon explosions would mark the first time they had conducted a terror attack in the West.

Boston bombing: 'One suspect held and second on the run' after explosion and shootout which killed policeman Dramatic development comes hours after FBI release photos and video of two suspects in the Boston Marathon bombings Shootout: Officers draw their guns A police officer has been shot dead on a university campus just outside of Boston sparking a massive gun and explosives battle with two suspects.The dramatic developments came hours after the FBI released photos and video of two suspects in the Boston Marathon bombings, urging the public to help identify the men but warning people not to approach them.A manhunt for the gunmen was launched following the shooting at the Cambridge campus of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).Moments later reports came in of a carjacking and police became involved in a chase.Terrified residents reported hearing a volley of gun shots and several explosions as police ordered them to stay inside.Live news reports said police officers were dealing with explosives left on the ground after the chase in the Watertown area, just west of Cambridge where MIT is located and eight miles to the west of central Boston.Police were told to switch off mobile phones and other electronic devices for fear of setting off explosives. Fatal: A police officer was shot in the gun battle and later died

Luckiest man alive survives Boston Marathon bomb AND the Texas factory explosion He had finished running the marathon just seconds before the huge explosions near the finish line on Monday Marathon effort: Joe Berti A dad had TWO miracle escapes after surviving the Boston Marathon bomb AND the Texas fertiliser factory blast.Joe Berti had finished running the marathon just seconds before the huge explosions near the finish line on Monday.He escaped unscathed - and so did his wife Amy and their friends who were just 10 yards away from the blast which killed 3 people.Monday's bombings in Boston killed three people and left more than 180 wounded.Amy and a friend were both hit by shrapnel but were relatively unhurt but a woman stood next to them had a leg torn off from the knee down. Running for cover: Amy Berti pictured after the Boston Marathon bombDad-of-two Joe said: "I had just run to the finish line and like 30 seconds later I heard the first explosion, and then turned around and saw the smoke."I knew immediately that it was a bomb ... Then the second explosion occurred, and I saw a wave of people running."They left Boston the next day and returned home to Texas, with every hope of getting back to life as normal with their two girls, ages 8 and 11.Joe was heading home from a meeting on Wednesday night when he saw black smoke up ahead to his left.As he drove closer, he saw - and felt - his second explosion in two days while some of the debris landed on his car.The blast in West, near Waco, killed at least five people and injured more than 160.Amy said: "We are just praying for the people who were so much less fortunate than we were."

Luckiest man alive survives Boston Marathon bomb AND the Texas factory explosion He had finished running the marathon just seconds before the huge explosions near the finish line on Monday Marathon effort: Joe Berti A dad had TWO miracle escapes after surviving the Boston Marathon bomb AND the Texas fertiliser factory blast.Joe Berti had finished running the marathon just seconds before the huge explosions near the finish line on Monday.He escaped unscathed - and so did his wife Amy and their friends who were just 10 yards away from the blast which killed 3 people.Monday's bombings in Boston killed three people and left more than 180 wounded.Amy and a friend were both hit by shrapnel but were relatively unhurt but a woman stood next to them had a leg torn off from the knee down. Running for cover: Amy Berti pictured after the Boston Marathon bombDad-of-two Joe said: "I had just run to the finish line and like 30 seconds later I heard the first explosion, and then turned around and saw the smoke."I knew immediately that it was a bomb ... Then the second explosion occurred, and I saw a wave of people running."They left Boston the next day and returned home to Texas, with every hope of getting back to life as normal with their two girls, ages 8 and 11.Joe was heading home from a meeting on Wednesday night when he saw black smoke up ahead to his left.As he drove closer, he saw - and felt - his second explosion in two days while some of the debris landed on his car.The blast in West, near Waco, killed at least five people and injured more than 160.Amy said: "We are just praying for the people who were so much less fortunate than we were."

This week's amazing Twitter photos: Lightning, friendly animals, and moreGet the funniest virals and the most candid celeb pictures in our latest round-up of Twitter snaps. This week's selection of Twitter photos include an amazing image of Lake Michigan as lightning strikes during a spring storm and a picture of the International Space Station against the moon.Also in this week's list, animals make friends with a photographer and lion cubs play.Do you have a great photo to share? Tweet @Mirror_Pictures to be featured in next week's round up.

Why the real evil of the Boston bombings is how we're all to blame for this stupidity One suspect dead and another on the run, but we're asking the wrong questions says Fleet Street Fox Evil is a nice, easy word.It means you can blame wrongness for being wrong. You can say it was the devil, it was one of those things, it was someone who was twisted, it was wicked, it was heartless.And when we've blamed those things, why, it's done with. There's nothing you can do about Beelzebub, or scumbags, or someone determined to be as bad as they can. These things happen.So when someone set off two pressure cooker bombs at the Boston Marathon, it was tragic and awful but more than anything else it was evil.When the FBI announced they had two suspects in baseball caps, they were innocent until proven guilty but their photographs were spread around the world like social media trying to pass on the lurgy - tag, you're it, and run away.Now there's been a firefight and the suspects named, with at time of writing one of them dead and the other on the run, there are chilling pictures of unknown provenance showing one of them in the crowds just behind eight-year-old Martin Richard, the boy blown apart by the bomb. Photo claiming to be of Boston bomb suspect and victim Martin Richard Whether the image has been tweaked or not, it is the very definition of wrong - an innocent child, a happy crowd, a sunny spring day, and a threatening shade stalking through it all with malicious intent. It is wickedness in a baseball cap, it is the twisted dissonance of all our underlying fears.If someone faked the picture, it's even wronger still.And long before we know for sure who the suspects are, before we know if they are also the perpetrators of a heinous crime, and long before anyone discovers what their motives may have been, we call it - and them - evil.We don't use the word 'worrying'. We don't say they must have serious mental health issues.We don't wonder how the FBI couldn't find them before but yet turned them up within days of people being blown up.We don't ask ourselves why two people apparently involved in the worst terror attack on the US mainland in 12 years stuck around for the manhunt, or even stuck together.We call them armed and dangerous, rather than armed and stupid. Stupid is more worrying, and stupid is what the bombers were, no matter their IQs or level of academic attainment.Only a moron would think you could wander into the centre of any major Western city and not have your every move tracked on CCTV - creating videos which, after your atrocity, will be scoured by law enforcement agencies to track you back to your home postcode.Only the seriously thick would think putting on a baseball cap causes more than a few seconds' delay in identifying you, and it's would take the pathologically dense to go to the effort of wearing one only to put it on back to front so that even its temporary camouflage is wasted.Added to which, you'd need to be someone who's in need of medication to think that your actions won't be tweeted, shared, linked, and otherwise passed around from the first glass first tinkling to Earth all the way to the point you die in a hail of bullets, along with whatever strange message you thought your bomb would tell us.It's stupid to think a bomb will change anyone's mind. It's stupid to think you won't get caught once the state wants to find you, whether you're blowing up marathons or driving without due care and attention.More than anything else, it's stupid to call stuff evil because when you do that you dismiss it - you shrug it off, you say it's one of those things, you shudder, you grieve, and you don't change a damn thing.All of us get away with what no-one else much cares about. You can blow people up in Chechnya all the day long, and Barack Obama won't intervene. You can drive as you please unless you do it in front of a copper, and you can abuse little children right up to the point the legal barriers to publishing the allegations are lifted.Don't you see it's our own inaction which is evil? It's not what they do, or why they do it, because bombers and perverts and bad drivers alike are made, not born. What's wicked is the way those of us who sit and watch these things unfold like voyeurs still abdicate ourselves from being part of it.We don't make an effort with missing people, or the mentally ill, and then we act surprised when one of them leaves the reservation. We guard privacy so carefully that we create secrecy for those with bad intentions, we don't stop a bad driver until after they've mown down a mother and child in the street.We don't use any of the right words or ask any of the most sensible questions because to do so would be to admit there was something we could do - that we have a share of the responsibility.We don't commit the crimes, because we don't want to and we're bright enough to know how easy it is to be caught. But as a human race, as a species which stupidly and blindly insists bad things happen because some people are just wicked, we do everything we can to help those crimes happen.And when they do, the grief, the horror, the hate, is directed at the stupid people who didn't have the capacity to figure out all the things we already knew. We shoot them down in a hail of bullets, and tell ourselves there's less evil in the world.Yet we never run out of stupid people, and somehow they keep on outwitting us.Don't you think that's worrying?

Boston bombing suspect identified by double amputee victim who woke up and described man to FBI Jeff Bauman, who was pictured being wheeled away from the scene with both legs blown off, saw the suspect minutes before the explosion Brave: Jeff Bauman in the now iconic image from the Boston bombing The brave Boston bombing victim photographed in a wheelchair with his legs blown off was able to identify one of the suspected terrorists after waking in his hospital bed. Jeff Bauman had to have both legs amputated below the knee after suffering catastrophic injuries as he watched the marathon. Images of the 27-year-old being wheeled away from the scene shortly after the explosion were broadcast around the world in the days after the attack. Now it has emerged that Jeff, who was caught in the blast as he waited for his girlfriend Erin to finish the race, was able to identify one of the men who is believed to be behind the attack. He woke up in the hospital under the influence of strong pain medication and asked for pen and paper to describe what he saw. His brother Chris told Bloomberg News that he saw man wearing a cap, sunglasses and a black jacket over a hooded sweatshirt look him in the eye then drop a bag at his feet. Suspects: The man in the white hat was identified by Jeff Bauman Two minutes later, the deadly blast ripped through the crowd, blowing Jeff’s legs apart. "He woke up under so much drugs, asked for a paper and pen and wrote, 'bag, saw the guy, looked right at me,'" his brother, Chris told Bloomberg. His description helped FBI officials identify the suspects, whose images were released yesterday. Earlier this week, Jeff was identified as the man in the now iconic image by his father. Jeff Bauman Snr said on his Facebook page that his son had to have both lower limbs removed at Boston Medical Center because of extensive vascular and bone damage. He said his son also had to have another surgery because of fluid in his abdomen. Bauman added that his son was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Boston Marathon bombings: First picture of police officer shot dead in shootout at MIT University Sean Collier, 26, was found in his patrol car with multiple gunshot wounds Technology Police Officer Sean Collier This is the first picture of the police officer shot dead during the hunt for the Boston Marathon bombing suspects.Sean Collier, 26, was found in his patrol car with multiple gunshot wounds.e was rushed to hospital but was pronounced dead on arrival.Officer Collier had been responding to a report of a robbery at a shop on the Cambridge campus of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).MIT Police Chief John DiFava described Collier as a well-liked, dedicated officer.He said: "In a very short period of time, it was remarkable how engaged he was with students, particularly graduate students."IT President L. Rafael Reif said: "The loss of Officer Collier is deeply painful to the entire MIT community."Our thoughts today are with his family, his friends, his colleagues on our police force and, by all accounts, the many other members of our community who knew him.This is a senseless and tragic loss."Collier was a 2009 graduate of Salem State University.A spokesman said: "We are deeply saddened to learn that Sean Collier, a member of Salem State’s class of 2009, was killed last night in the line of duty. He was a campus police officer at MIT. Sean received a criminal justice degree and graduated with honors."Our thoughts and sympathy go out to Sean’s family as well as all those affected by the recent tragic events in Boston.Israel Ruiz, MIT’s executive vice president and treasurer, said: "The MIT Police serve all of us at the Institute with great dignity, honor and dedication. "Everyone here -- those who knew Officer Collier, and those who did not -- are devastated by the events that transpired on our campus last night."We will never forget the seriousness with which he took his role protecting MIT and those of us who consider it home."

Boston bombers 'hurled pressure cooker bomb at police in shoot-out' A witness who had a front-row seat to the dramatic shootout described what happened on his doorstep in Watertown Police with guns drawn search for a suspect in Watertown, Massachusetts A witness has told how he saw the marathon bombers hurl explosives at police – before one was shot dead in the street.Andrew Kitzenberg had a front-row seat to the dramatic shootout that happened on his doorstep in Watertown, Boston.He said: “I was just sitting in the living room and started hearing gunfire outside.“I went to the window and saw two people behind a black Mercedes SUV with a sedan next to it. "There was two shooters firing down the street towards what looked like at least six police vehicles.“They engaged in a fire-fight for a few minutes and while there was gunfire they were also utilising bombs, which sounded and looked like grenades.“They also had what looked like a pressure cooker bomb. It was about 30 to 40 feet from my bedroom window.“I’ve seen the photographs from the marathon [when similar bombs were used] and I had a clear line of sight.“The shooters were separated by about 10 feet and were in between the cars.“When they used their larger bomb, they threw it towards the officers but it didn’t get near."It acted as more of decoy and covered the whole street in smoke.“At that point one of the shooters ran towards the cops firing his gun while the other got back into the SUV. I saw the guy running get taken down.“As he went down, the second shooter turned the SUV around and went full speed at the police officers. He went right through the middle of the cars, taking out mirrors and breaking through.”

Recap: Boston bombing suspect 'killed and second on the run' after police officer killed in shootoutThe dramatic developments came hours after the FBI released photos and video of two suspects in the Boston Marathon bombings

10.22pm

Thousands of Britons have been caught up in the lockdown of Boston as
authorities continue their search for the surviving suspect in the
marathon bombing.
One of them is Rob Ledniczky, a first year history student at Harvard University, from Maidstone, in Kent.
The
19-year-old said: "It's a pretty weird atmosphere. It's a surreal
experience that this is happening right outside our windows. Everyone's
in a state of shock.
"We've been instructed by the university that our classes have been cancelled and to stay indoors."
Mr
Ledniczky said he was on campus last night when reports emerged of the
shooting at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
"About
30 or 40 police cars screeched past. Work ground to a halt and people
were watching the news to keep up to date," he added.

8.42pm

Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was seen on his
university campus this week after Monday's deadly explosions, classmates
said.
Students said Tsarnaev lived in a dormitory. Harry Danso,
who lives on the same floor, said he saw him in a dorm hallway this
week.
"He was regular, he was calm," said Mr Danso, who described
Tsarnaev as a quiet kid who sometimes would ask him for a homework
assignment.
Sonia Ribeiro, 19, was in a philosophy class with Tsarnaev. She said he was on campus this week, but not in class.
"He was laid back. I would never expect this at all from him," she said.

8.20pm

An aunt of the Boston Marathon bombing suspects said she does not
believe the brothers could have been involved in Monday's attack.
Tamerlan Tsarnaev was married and had a three-year-old daughter in the US, Maret Tsarnaeva told reporters in Toronto.
"He has a wife in Boston and from a Christian family, so you can't tie it to religion," she said.
But
she said the 26-year-old Tamerlan, who recently became a devout Muslim
and prayed five times a day, "seemingly did not find himself yet in
America, because it's not easy".
Tamerlan was killed last night
during a shootout with police, and a huge manhunt was under way in the
Boston area for his 19-year-old brother, Dzhokhar.
Ms Tsarnaeva said she wants proof they are involved in the deadly bombing.
"We're
talking about three dead people, 100-something injured, and I do not
believe, I just do not believe our boys would do that... I don't know
them in the way that they could be capable of this," she said.
She said her brother Anzor Tsarnaev had high expecations for his sons, especially Tamerlan.
She said her brother was desperate when he found out Tamerlan dropped out of his university.
She said he always demanded more of his children and said Tamerlan was his favourite.
Tamerlan
was not a devout practising Muslim, "but just recently, maybe two years
ago, he started praying five times a day," she said.
Ms Tsarnaeva called both boys smart and athletic. "Within the family, everything was perfect," she said.

8.11pm

Police have called off the search for a green Honda Civic that had been linked to the suspects.
Authorities initially said the at-large suspect in the bombings may have been driving the 1999 Civic.
However, police now say that the car is in their possession.

7.41pm

The FBI removed a computer from the New Jersey home of the sister of the bombing suspects.
Police in West New York said the woman is cooperating in the investigation.
They have cordoned off the three-story brick building across the Hudson River from New York City.
The woman, speaking earlier through a crack in the door, said she is sorry for the families who lost loved ones.
She said she does not know what got into her brothers.
At the same time, she said she does not know if it is true that her brothers were responsible.

7.24pm

The manhunt has caused filming on the new Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper movie American Hustle to be suspended.
Sony
said the film's producers were heeding official requests to remain
indoors as a massive manhunt virtually shut down the city and some
suburbs.
Authorities suspended public transport and asked businesses not to open as thousands of officers swarmed the streets.
American
Hustle, about an FBI sting operation in the late 1970s, reunites the
stars of Silver Linings Playbook plus Jeremy Renner, Christian Bale and
Amy Adams.
The Boston Symphony Orchestra also said it was postponing its concert tonight.

7.15pm

Connecticut State Police said the at-large suspect in the marathon bombing could be travelling in a green Honda Civic.
It said in a statement that the suspect could possibly be in a 1999 Honda with Massachusetts registration number 116-GC7.
Authorities
in Connecticut urged people earlier today to be on the lookout for a
grey Honda CRV, but it later emerged that vehicle had been recovered in
Boston.

Boston Marathon evil and innocence: Bomber and victim just yards apart seconds before blast This chilling picture shows Dzhokar Tsarnaev sneaking away after leaving one of the rucksack bombs close to Martin Richard

AN innocent youngster stands just moments from death – as his killer lurks behind him.This chilling picture shows Dzhokar Tsarnaev sneaking away after leaving one of the rucksack bombs close to Martin Richard, eight.And terror returned to the streets of Boston today as the two ­crazed marathon bombers tried to flee police in a string of dramatic ­shootouts and car chases.Millions of petrified residents locked themselves inside homes and businesses and schools and shops closed as 9,000 heavily-armed personnel hunted down Chechen brothers Tamerlan and Dzhokar Tsarnaev through eerily quiet districts.Tamerlan, 26, was killed in a gunfight after he tried to blow up officers who had tracked down a SUV the pair had earlier carjacked.But 19-year-old Dzhokar managed to flee the carnage and was tonight still on the run, leaving behind him a trail of destruction that included a dead policeman and another seriously hurt.As the hunt for him intensified, officers cordoned off a 20 block area in the city’s Watertown district and surrounded a house. Frightening: A police officer evacuates a shoeless man holding a child Several frightened neighbours were escorted away as officers ordered them out with loud hailers.Andrew Kitzenberg, who lives near the scene of the shootout, told how he saw the two terrorists firing at police in a battle heard by locals who peered out from behind their curtains to catch a glimpse of the drama unfolding.He also said one of the brothers hurled what looked like a pressure cooker bomb – the type of device used in the marathon explosion that killed three people and left 178 hurt at the finish on Monday.Andrew said the pair fired at six police cars 70 or 80 yards away.He added: “There was a long exchange of gunfire. I saw them light this bomb. They threw it towards the officers."There was smoke that covered our entire street.”At that point Tamerlan decided to rush the officers but was gunned down. High alert: Police take position In his desperation to get away Dzhokar – said to be a second year medical student – jumped into the stolen car and ­reversed over his dead brother. He forced his way through the police lines and screeched off into the night.As dawn broke over the shocked city, police chiefs ordered everyone to stay indoors and warned against approaching Dzhokar who was “armed and extremely dangerous” and in would be in a state of panic.Buses, trains and taxis were shut down and flights were temporarily halted as the hunt continued last night.With police in combat gear brandishing a frightening display of weaponry, backed up by armoured cars and a fleet of squad vehicles, streets of one of America’s most tranquil cities were turned into a virtual war zone.The chaotic sequence of events that led to Tamerlan’s death and the search for his brother, began after the FBI released photos and surveillance videos of the pair at the scene of the bombing.They were immediately inundated with calls from the public and agents said publishing the pictures spooked the two killers who had been lying low.Just six hours later, a rookie policeman at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 26-year-old Sean Collier, was found dead in his vehicle.He had multiple gunshot wounds and had not even had time to pull out his weapon.There were claims the officer ­accidentally came across the brothers after being called out to a robbery at a convenience store.Police then received reports of the armed carjacking of the black Mercedes SUV in the nearby suburb of Cambridge. Shootout; Police confront the two suspects Splash News Scores of squad cars rushed to the scene to find the vehicle.But after being held at gunpoint for 30 tense minutes by the brothers, the victim was inexplicably released unhurt and dropped off at a petrol station.Police quickly found the SUV and the gun drama began. As officers homed in on Dzhokar, residents said Boston looked like a ghost town as they heeded the warnings to stay indoors.Grocer Jim Steinman said: “It’s like it is Christmas Day but in April, everything is shut. What normally is one of my busiest days has been a total disaster.“But what is more important a few bucks in the till or your life?“It must of cost the city millions of dollars in lost revenue but we just pray no one else is killed in this tragedy.”More than a million people were instructed to “shelter-in-place” the police euphemism for staying indoors wherever they were.Bomb victim Jeff Bauman, whose lower legs were blown off in the attack, helped identify Tamerlan when he woke up in hospital after surgery.His brother Chris said the 27-year-old had looked into the eyes of the cowardly terrorist who tried to kill him.He saw a man wearing a cap, sunglasses and a black jacket over a hooded ­sweatshirt drop at bag at his feet.. Chris added: “He woke up in hospital under so much drugs, asked for a paper and pen and wrote, ‘Bag, saw the guy, looked right at me.’”There were many false alarms in the hunt for Dzhokar, as the tension soared in the frightened city. A man with hearing aids was ­overpowered by officers but quickly sent on his way.Police and FBI agents also searched the New York home of a sister of the maniac bombers in a bid to find out more about them. She has not been named.A computer was removed from ­the property. The three-storey brick house across the Hudson River was last night cordoned off by police.The woman, speaking through a crack in the door, said she was sorry for the families who lost loved ones, but insisted she “didn’t know what had got into her two brothers”.Tamerlan was taken to Beth Israel hospital, where 12 of the most critically wounded victims of the marathon bombing are still being treated, and was pronounced dead by medics there.

British woman arrested after trying to smuggle cocaine worth £100,000 inside her vagina She was held in Buenos Aires as she tried to check in to board a plane home and cops confiscated 850g of the drug Scene: Buenos Aires A British woman has been arrested in Argentina with nearly £100,000 worth of cocaine found inside her vagina.She was held in Buenos Aires as she tried to check in to board a plane home.Federal police confiscated 850g of the drug she was trying to smuggle.The Ministry of Security said the unnamed woman was under police surveillance at the time and further inquiries were continuing to identify the gang who paid her to transport the drugs.She has been remanded at a women’s prison in the city.A ministry spokesman said: “The drugs had been packed tightly into a barrel-shaped object.“It’s not the first time we’ve stopped a woman carrying drugs stuffed inside their private parts.”

India rape victim aged just FIVE fighting for life after being held hostage and tortured for two days The girl went missing Monday and was found Wednesday by neighbours who heard her crying in a room in the same New Delhi building where she lives with her parents A five-year-old girl is fighting for life after being raped and tortured by a man in India who held her hostage for two days. The girl went missing Monday and was found Wednesday by neighbours who heard her crying in a room in the same New Delhi building where she lives with her parents. The girl was found alone, but police say the man who lives in the room was arrested in Bihar state, about 620 miles east of the capital. The young girl has serious injuries, including a slashed neck and bite marks, according to DK Sharma, medical superintendent of India's largest government-run hospital. New Delhi residents protested today against what they said was a lack of police action.The news comes just weeks after a girl aged just three years old was kidnapped and gang raped in India. The youngster was sleeping beside her mother on a pavement in Tirur, in southern India, when she was kidnapped. The homeless family only noticed she was missing the next morning. The child was found passed out in the street by students on their way to school. One of the students said: "She had a high fever and she had ants crawling all over her body." India has seen outrage and protests against rape and attacks on women since the fatal gang-rape of a young woman on a bus in New Delhi last year. Student Jyoti Singh was travelling on a public bus on December 16 when six men raped and severely beat her before stripping her naked and throwing her from the moving vehicle. he died 12 days later after signs her vital organs had failed, according to staff at the hospital in Singapore where she was flown for specialist treatment. And in March, a 39-year-old Swiss tourist was beaten and gang raped in front of her husband as they camped in the central state of Madhya Pradesh.

Colorado: Five snowboarders killed in avalanche A sixth reportedly survived the incident in the state's Loveland Pass on Saturday afternoon Five snowboarders have been killed in an avalanche in Colorado.A sixth reportedly survived the incident in the state's Loveland Pass on Saturday afternoon.The Colorado Department of Transportation closed a highway as many skiers were headed home from the nearby Arapahoe Basin ski resort.Lisa Clarke Devore, who was headed back to Denver from the resort, told The Associated Press that she saw a fire truck and ambulance on the pass, as well as two search dogs headed into the area of the slide. She says she saw several ambulances, including one towing snowmobiles, driving toward the pass.The pass, elevation of 11,990 feet (3,655 meters), is popular among backcountry skiers and snowboarders.On Thursday, a 38-year-old snowboarder died in an avalanche south of Vail Pass. Eagle County sheriffÕs officials said the man and another snowboarder likely triggered the slide after a friend on a snowmobile dropped them off at the top of Avalanche Bowl.Nationwide, more than 18 people have died in avalanches this season, according to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center.U.S. avalanche deaths climbed steeply around 1990 to an average of around 24 a year as new gear became available for backcountry travel. Until then, avalanches rarely claimed more than a handful of lives each season in records going back to 1950.

Boston bombers: FBI hunting 12-strong terrorist “sleeper cell” linked to brothers Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev Police believe the pair were specially trained to carry out the devastating attack Covered boat: Fugitive was found in back yard The FBI was last night hunting a 12-strong terrorist “sleeper cell” linked to the Boston marathon bomb brothersPolice believe Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev were specially trained to carry out the devastating attack.More than 1,000 FBI operatives were last night working to track down the cell and arrested a man and two women 60 miles from Boston in the hours before Dzhokhar’s dramatic capture after a bloody shootout on Friday.A source close to the investigation said: “We have no doubt the brothers were not acting alone. The devices used to detonate the two bombs were highly sophisticated and not the kind of thing people learn from Google.“They were too advanced. Someone gave the brothers the skills and it is now our job to find out just who they were. Agents think the sleeper cell has up to a dozen members and has been waiting several years for their day to come.”A specialist team of CIA and FBI interrogators was yesterday flown to a Boston hospital to grill wounded Dzhokhar, 19, about the secret group. The University of Massachusetts student was caught on Friday after hiding out in a boat parked in a garden in locked down Watertown the day after a gun battle with police left his 26-year-old brother and a rookie cop dead.Dzhokhar is said to have run his brother over as he escaped in a stolen car while Tamerlan lay handcuffed on the ground. They were carrying six bombs with them at the time, three of which ­exploded, as well as a handgun and rifle. The devices were thought to be pipe bombs.Last night Dzhokhar – badly wounded but alive – lay handcuffed to his hospital bed under armed guard. The other three arrested in the port of New Bedford are also believed to be of college age. An aerial infrared image shows the outline of Dzhokhar hiding in the boat Dzhokhar even went to a college party two days after the bombs wreaked havoc at the finish line. According to fellow students, he “looked relaxed” as he joined in a party at the campus on Wednesday night.Hours later he was involved in the shootout which saw his brother killed.Investigators have begun piecing together how the “well-mannered” brothers of Chechen origin were radicalised. Neighbours of the family said older brother Tamerlan had recently become obsessed with Islam. He mysteriously left the US in January last year to spend six months in Russia. Yesterday senior FBI counter-terrorism official Kevin Brock said: “It’s a key thread for investigators.”It also emerged the Bureau interviewed Tamerlan two years ago, at the request of the Russian government, but could not establish that he had ties to terrorist radicals.This was despite his worrying Russian-language YouTube page featuring links to extremist Islamic sites and others since taken down by YouTube.One link showed an hour-long speech by an Islamic teacher called Shaykh Feiz Mohammed, while other videos are labled “Terrorists” and “Islam”.The radical cleric, with links to extremist British Muslims, encouraged his followers to become martyrs for Islam. He said: “Teach them this: There is nothing more beloved to me than wanting to die as a mujahid.”Yesterday the brothers’ mother Zubeidat, speaking from her home in Russia, added further intrigue to her sons’ murky past when she claimed the boys had been framed by the FBI over the two bombs last Monday that left three dead and 178 injured.

Boston bombers: Suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev 'awake and responding in writing to questions' The 19-year-old is unable to talk due to his damaged larynx after he 'shot himself in the throat in a botched suicide attempt' Boston marathon bombing suspect Dzohkhar Tsarnaev is reportedly awake and responding in writing to questions from authorities.The 19-year-old is unable to talk due to his damaged larynx following Friday’s huge manhunt.It's claimed Tsarnaev shot himself in the throat in a botched suicide attempt during his last stand with armed police. However, last night ABC and NBC news reported that the alleged bomber was answering questions put to him by FBI interrogators.They have been desperate to question the student to find out if anyone else was involved in last week’s deadly attacks which killed three and injured 176.US senator Dan Coats, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said that Dzhokhar, who is under armed guard in Boston's Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Centre,may never be able to talk again due to his injuries.He was captured in a boat in a suburban Boston yard on Friday night.It is thought the teenager placed a gun in his mouth and pulled the trigger in a desperate bid to avoid capture and a possible death penalty. Reports say the bullet passed through his throat, just missing his spinal cord, and came out the back of his neck.Dzhokhar and older brother Tamerlan, who it emerged was married to American Katherine Russell, 24, detonated two bombs just yards from the finishing line of the Boston Marathon last Monday.Investigators are seeking, among things, to determine whether the two suspects acted alone.Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis said he was convinced the Tsarnaev brothers were the two principal perpetrators."I am confident that they were the two major actors in the violence that occurred," he told CNN on Sunday.Davis also said investigators have discovered at least four undetonated devices, one of them similar to the two pressure cooker bombs set off at the Boston Marathon, and that he believed the suspects were planning additional attacks.

Kim Jong-il ate hippos, snakes and spiders washed down with Bordeaux wine Jong-il, who died in 2011, also banned his family from wearing perfume or aftershave because he hated the smell North Korean leader Kim Jong Il Tyrant Kim Jong-il liked to feast on hippos, snakes and spiders, his personal sushi chef has claimed. Kenji Fujimoto said: "There were a lot of strange requests. Snake was one. They got someone else to cook that. I only work with seafood. "Hippopotamus was very good and tasted like chicken. He wanted to eat spiders one day." Mr Fujimoto, who fled the country in 2001, said that the North Korean leader also enjoyed drinking Bordeaux wine and Johnnie Walker whisky and Cognac. Jong-il, who died in 2011, also banned his family from wearing perfume or aftershave because he hated the smell. Mr Fujimoto also revealed that son Kim Jong-un loves The Beatles and dreams of looking like Hollywood muscleman Jean-Claude Damme. He told The Sun: "He started buying fitness equipment and taking protein supplements. "He watched foreign movies a lot and is a big fan of The Beatles."

Boston bomber's wife found out husband was a suspect while watching the TV Katherine Russell Tsarnaev left for work as normal on the day she last saw him alive and did not suspect anything was wrong Brothers: Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev The wife of one of the Boston bombers found out he was a suspect - while watching the TV.Katherine Russell Tsarnaev left for work as normal on the day she last saw husband Tamerlan alive and did not suspect anything was wrong.Her lawyer Amato DeLuca said today that she had not seen much of him in recent days as she was working long hours while he cared for their toddler daughter.And he revealed that she learned her husband was a suspect by seeing it on television.Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, and his brother, Dzhokhar, 19, two ethnic Chechen brothers from southern Russia, are accused of planting two bombs near the marathon finish line last Monday, killing three and injuring more than 180.Their motive remains unclear.Ms Russell Tsarnaev did not speak to federal officials who went to her parents' home last night, where she has been staying since her husband was killed during a getaway attempt on Friday.Mr DeLuca said he spoke with the federal officials, but he would not offer further details."We're deciding what we want to do and how we want to approach this," he said.When asked whether anything seemed amiss to the wife following the bombings, Mr DeLuca said: "Not as far as I know."Mr DeLuca said his client did not suspect her husband of anything.He said she had been working 70 to 80 hours, seven days a week as a home health care aide. While she was at work, her husband cared for their toddler daughter, Mr DeLuca said."When this allegedly was going on, she was working, and had been working all week to support her family," he said.He said Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was off at college and she saw him "not at all" at the apartment they shared.Ms Russell Tsarnaev was attending university in Boston when friends introduced her to her future husband at a nightclub, Mr DeLuca said.They dated on and off, then married in 2009 or 2010, he said.She was raised Christian, but at some point after meeting Tamerlan Tsarnaev, she converted to Islam, he said.When asked why she converted, he said: "She believes in the tenets of Islam and of the Koran. She believes in God."She had a comfortable middle-class upbringing. Her parents, a doctor and a nurse, live in a detached house in North Kingstown, an attractive and well-to-do town in Rhode Island south of Boston.She was seen collecting belongings from the house at the weekend, wearing a headscarf and sunglasses.

TV news presenter swears just FIVE SECONDS into his debut broadcast It's the one thing that keeps news broadcasters awake at night besides being faced with a difficult interviewee.But swearing within FIVE SECONDS of your first live appearance as a new presenter for a television network has got to be an all-time record.A.J Clemente suffered the humiliating blooper as he prepared to shoot his debut television broadcast for North Dakota's KFYR network.Without realising he was being recorded, the nervous presenter cursed "f***ing s***" under his breath as he composed himself for his big moment.His co-anchor Van Tieu looked visibly anxious as she tried to ignore the gaffe and continued announcing Mr Clemente's introduction to the show.ithout realising he was being recorded, the nervous presenter cursed "f***ing s***" under his breath as he composed himself for his big moment.His co-anchor Van Tieu looked visibly anxious as she tried to ignore the gaffe and continued announcing Mr Clemente's introduction to the show.Mr Clemente later tweeted his embarrassment at swearing on air, exclaiming: "That couldn't have gone any worse!"A few hours later he also posted: "Tough day, thanks for the support, we all make mistakes. I'm truly sorry for mine. I'll try my hardest to come back better and learn from this."But news bosses at NBC, which owns the network, were not so forgiving and have suspended the unfortunate anchor.Monica Hannan, news director at KFYR, posted on the station's official Facebook page apologising for the incident.She said: "To all of you who are writing in...I want to apologise for an incident that occurred prior to our early newscast this evening, when one of our employees used profanity on the air."He did not realise his microphone was on, but still, that's no excuse. We train our reporters to always assume that any microphone is live at any time."Unfortunately, that was not enough in this case. We can't take back what was said. The person involved has been suspended until we resolve the situation."All we can do at this point is ask for your forgiveness, and I can offer my personal assurance that I will do my best to ensure that nothing like this ever happens again under my watch."

Boston bomber: Watch Dzhokhar Tsarnaev perform robot dance moves and wrestle with friends in new video The film was taken in a basement during the friends' high school years at Cambridge Rindge and Latin School The 19-year-old performs robotic dance moves and wrestles with a mate in front of the camera. The film was taken in a basement during the friends' high school years at Cambridge Rindge and Latin School. Yushun Tsou posted the video online with the words "this was the Jahar I knew", a reference to Tsarnaev's nickname. Mr Tsou, who refers to Tsarnaev as a "friend and team-mate", has told of his shock at bombings - and the involvement of his pal. Dzhokhar and his brother Tamerlan Tsarnaev are accused of planting two bombs near the marathon finish line last Monday, killing three and injuring more than 180.

I Touch Myself singer Chrissy Amphlett dies aged 53 after breast cancer battle She rose to international fame in the early 1990s as the raunchy lead singer of Australian rock band Divinyls Exceptional bravery: Chrissy Amphlett I TOUCH Myself singer Chrissy Amphlett died yesterday aged 53 after battling breast cancer and multiple sclerosis.The ex-singer of Australian band the Divinyls went “in her sleep” surrounded by friends and family at home in New York, her musician husband Charley Drayton said.The band released six albums between 1982 and 1996, peaking in 1991 with I Touch Myself which reached No 1 in Australia, No 4 in the United States and No 10 in Britain.The statement from her family, released yesterday, said: "Our beloved Chrissy peacefully passed this afternoon."Christine Joy Amphlett succumbed to the effects of breast cancer and multiple sclerosis, diseases she vigorously fought with exceptional bravery and dignity. "She passed gently, in her sleep, surrounded by close friends and family, including husband of fourteen years, musician Charley Drayton; her sister, Leigh; nephew, Matt; and cousin Patricia Amphlett (“Little Pattie”)."Chrissy’s light burns so very brightly. Hers was a life of passion and creativity; she always lived it to the fullest. With her force of character and vocal strength she paved the way for strong, sexy, outspoken women."Best remembered as the lead singer of the ARIA Hall of Fame inductee, Divinyls; last month she was named one of Australia’s top ten singers of all time. "Chrissy expressed hope that her worldwide hit I Touch Myself would be utilised to remind all women to perform annual breast examinations."Chrissy was a true pioneer and a treasure to all whose lives her music and spirit touched."

Is this Bigfoot's foot? Experts baffled by mysterious five-toed foot found in forest The decomposing foot was discovered in a forest last month but medical experts are still baffled as to which creature it came from Lakeville Police Department A big foot has been discovered in woods - sparking speculation it could belong to a Bigfoot. Two boys found the decomposing foot in Massachusetts last month and handed it in to cops who sent it off to be identified.Medical experts have since tested it but say more examinations are needed to identify the mystery creature.However, despite having five toes and resembling a large human foot, they have ruled out that possibility.Local police chief Frank Alvilhiera suggested it might be a bear's paw but admitted: “It will take some time before we hear any official results.". Bigfoot - also known as Sasquatch or the abominable snowman - is the name given to a creature some people believe inhabit forests of North America.Most famously, footage was filmed in 1967 in California purporting to show a Bigfoot - but sceptics claim it was a man in a gorilla costume. Real or fake? Footage from 1967 Last year a hoaxer trying to start a Bigfoot scare was run over and killed as he stood in the road attempting to terrify drivers.Randy Lee Tenley, 44, was wearing a ghillie suit – a straggly full-body camouflage outfit resembling the mysterious ape-like ­creature also known as Sasquatch – hoping it would lead to reports of sightings. But because he was camouflaged he was hit by one car then run over by another as he lay in the road.

Boston bomber's brainwashed wife: The all-American girl who married a killer Tamerlan ­looked after their girl Zahara, three, while his wife worked 80 hours a week as a home carer for the elderly and disabled Convert: Katherine Russell Tsarnaev The FBI were last night waiting to question the “all-American girl” who became terrorist Tamerlan ­Tsarnaev’s wife over what she knew of his deadly mission.Federal agents contacted the lawyer of Muslim convert Katherine Russell, 24.Pals said she was “brainwashed” by the dead bomber into leaving college, getting married and having a child at 21. Tsarnaev looked after their girl Zahara, three, while his wife worked 80 hours a week as a home carer for the elderly and disabled.The eldest of three girls to mum Judith, a nurse, and dad Warren, a doctor, Katherine grew up in Rhode Island, New England.A friend said: “She was this all-American girl who was ­brainwashed by her husband. Nobody understands what happened to her.”

Seven Americans killed were killed at Afghanistan plane crash has been identified they were 6 from Mich., 1 from Ky. Building model planes and working on real ones comprised Gary Stockdale’s passion, filling the family’s basement with models in his youth, jumping into aviation as a career at age 16 — and later working at two Detroit area airports.

The 51-year-old Stockdale also knew the dangers of flying, his older brother told The Associated Press Tuesday. “He always said it was dangerous,” said Glenn Stockdale, 55. “He would always say ‘you either will die in a car crash or a ball of flame in a plane.’”

Gary Stockdale was one of seven Americans killed when their National Air Cargo plane crashed Monday near an Air Force base in Afghanistan. Six of the victims were from Michigan and a seventh was from Kentucky, said Shirley Kaufman, National Air Cargo vice president. Those killed include pilots Brad Hasler of Trenton, Mich. and Jeremy Lipka of Brooklyn, Mich.; first officers Jamie Brokaw of Monroe, Mich. and Rinku Summan of Canton, Mich.; loadmaster Michael Sheets of Ypsilanti, Mich.; and maintenance crewman Timothy Garrett of Louisville, Ky. As loadmaster, Sheets was responsible for making sure the weight and balance of the cargo was appropriate. Washingtonpost reports

The Dubai-bound Boeing 747-400 — operated by National Air Cargo — crashed just after takeoff Monday from Bagram Air Base around 11:20 a.m. local time, the National Transportation Safety Board said in a statement Tuesday. The accident site is within the perimeter of Bagram Air Base. The Taliban quickly claimed responsibility for downing the plane, but NATO said later the claims were false, and there was no sign of insurgent activity in the area at the time of the crash.

The Afghanistan Ministry of Transportation and Commercial Aviation is leading the investigation. The NTSB is investigating the crash alongside the ministry. The team will be composed of three NTSB investigators, as well as representatives from the Federal Aviation Administration and Boeing, the NTSB said.

Kaufman said the plane — owned by National Airlines, an Orlando, Florida-based subsidiary of National Air Cargo — was carrying vehicles and other cargo.

Chris Connerton met Brokaw at a flight school in Jacksonville, Fla., and described him as one of his closest friends and an experienced navigator who performed well under pressure.

“He was a very good person and very smart person,” Connerton told the AP Tuesday by telephone from Rochester, Minn.

Connerton credited Brokaw with helping get him through flight school, as well as a harrowing flight two years ago from Toledo, Ohio, to an international flight expo in Lakeland, Fla. Connerton said ice had built up on the plane to the point that he could no longer get it to climb.

“If it wasn’t for Jamie’s navigation and know-how ... we wouldn’t have made it,” Connerton said. “I don’t know that I would have had the capacity to handle the situation on my own.”

Elena Garrett of Jeffersonville, Ind., just across the Ohio River from Louisville, said ex-husband Timothy Garrett would have turned 52 on Saturday. They have two daughters together, ages 11 and 12.

“We’re all devastated,” Elena Garrett said about his death. “We were still best friends. He’s the best father I’ve ever seen (and) ready to help anybody. He would give the shirt off his back for anybody.”

Bill Hasler said in a statement Tuesday that his family learned Monday morning that his brother, Brad, was one of the crash victims.

“Brad was a wonderful father to two young children, a beloved husband to a wife who is expecting another child, a loving son, and the most loyal and supportive brother I could have ever asked for,” Bill Hasler said. “His influence in the lives of all of us who loved him is immeasurable, and our grief is indescribable.”

National Airlines was based until recently at Michigan’s Willow Run Airport, west of Detroit. It carries cargo both commercially and for the military, Kaufman said. She said the company employs about 225 people.

Summan had worked two-and-a-half years for National Air Cargo, said his wife, Rajnit Summan.

Golfer drowns as he fetches lost ball out of a lake: Tragedy on sunshine break to resort The non-swimmer was dragged out alive but died moments later despite desperate attempts to resuscitate him Popular: Golfer Thomas Ross Northpix A Britsh golfer has drowned after falling into a Spanish lake while looking for his lost ball.Non-swimmer Thomas Ross, 73, was dragged out alive but died moments later despite desperate attempts to resuscitate him.The retired electrician, who was on a golfing holiday with six friends, is believed to have lost his balance and toppled into the lake at the fifth hole.A postmortem was being held to determine whether heart problems may have contributed to his death at the Dunas de Donana Golf Club near Huelva in southwest Spain.Pals of Mr Ross, from Nairn in Scotland, told of their devastation today. Course: Dunas de Donana Golf Club Daily Record Yvonne Forgan, secretary at his local Nairn Dunbar Golf Club, said: “We only heard about it this morning. It’s an absolute tragedy.“He had been a member here for 33 years. He was passionate about his golf and had a handicap of 17."He was a popular and well known figure at the club and will be sorely missed.”She added: “All we know is that he hit a shot into the water and he went to retrieve it."We don’t know if he might have suffered some kind of turn.” Layout: The course surrounded with water Daily Record The trip to Spain had been organised by a local doctor.Mr Ross, who has two sons in Australia, had been staying with the rest of the group at the four-star Carabela Beach & Golf Hotel near Donana National Park.A spokesman said: “The water in the lake is only around waist high but it gets deeper the further in you go.”Mr Ross’s friends were making statements today to an investigating judge who has opened a routine inquiry into the tragedy, which happened at 11.30am on Sunday.A police source said: “It appears the dead man drowned after going into the lake to try to get his golf ball.“We don’t know yet why he got into difficulties."We are trying to determine whether he lost his balance and tripped or maybe suffered some sort of panic attack while he was in the water.”

Krystle Campbell funeral: Emotional scenes as first Boston bomb victim is laid to rest As Krystle Campbell’s coffin was driven slowly to the church accompanied by 23 police outriders, firefighters formed a guard of honour The eldest victim of the Boston Marathon bombing was laid to rest today as thousands of mourners lined the streets to say an emotional goodbye.As Krystle Campbell’s coffin was driven slowly to the church accompanied by 23 police outriders, firefighters stood to attention to form a guard of honour.Many, including some of Boston’s most hardened cops, were left with tears in their eyes as the 29-year-old made her final journey before being buried.Krystle, who had gone to Copley Square with a friend to watch the runners cross the finishing line, was described as “vibrant, loving, beautiful and too young to die”.The restaurant manager’s service was held in her home town of Medford, five miles north west of Boston. She was later buried at the city’s Oak Grove cemetery. Much missed: Smiling face of Krystle Campbell
Some in the crowd outside St. Joseph’s Church had driven more than 100 miles to attend the funeral, where officials including Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick were in attendance.Hours after the service Boston fell silent at 2.50pm in a mark of respect to the three who had died and 180 injured. It was the exact moment a week ago the first of the two bombs were detonated by terrorist brothers Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev. The attack also killed Boston undergraduate Lingzi Lu, 23, and eight-year-old Martin Richard. Three days after the bombing and as the terrorists tried to escape they shot and killed rookie cop Sean Collier.A memorial service for the 26-year-old will be held later this week. No date has yet been announced for their funerals.

Texas fertiliser explosion: Dozens of pets abandoned in chaos are reunited with owners Volunteers rescued 60 animals, mostly dogs, which were roaming the evacuation zone but have now been taken home A plume of smoke rises from a fertilizer plant fire in West, Texas AP / Andy Bartee Dozens of pets abandoned in the chaos of the Texas fertiliser explosion have been reunited with their owners.Volunteers have rescued 60 animals, mostly dogs, which were roaming the evacuation zone.olice then used Facebook and Twitter to match the animals to their homes.Animal rescue worker Michelle Nemec said: “We’ve had some quick reunions. Social media has made it so fantastic.”Wednesday’s explosion killed 14 people and injured 200 in the town of West, near Waco.The exclusion zone remained in place for many households today.As well as dogs, a bearded dragon lizard, cats, rabbits, caged birds and a guinea pig were recovered.Many were said to be “shell shocked”.Student Mary Jane McElrath, 17, had two dogs and four cats but has only found one, a Welsh corgi.She said: “I’m afraid they’ll run away the longer we’re away from home.”

Argentina meteor video: Fireball explodes in sky for unplanned light show at music festival A fan filming the show on a mobile phone managed to capture the moment the meteor exploded in the skies above the stageFans at an outdoor gig were treated to some spectacular unplanned pyrotechnics when a meteor lit up the sky.Folk band Los Tekis were on stage on Sunday night when the meteor fell towards earth and burst into a dazzling light show.A fan filming the show in northern Argentina on a mobile phone managed to capture the moment in the skies above the stage.According to some witnesses, at first some concert-goers thought they someone thrown a flare into the sky.Meteors are small particles from the solar system that burn from friction when entering the atmosphere.Several thousand meteors of fireball magnitude occur each day, most of them unseen over the oceans or hidden by daylight.

Richie Havens dies aged 72: Woodstock Festival folk singer has heart attack
Richie was famous for his distinctive guitar and singing style and his cover version of Bob Dylan's Just Like A Woman Missed: Folk musician Richie Havens Richie Havens, the folk singer who opened the legendary 1969 Woodstock festival, has died of a heart attack aged 72.His family said he died at home in Jersey and added: "Beyond his music, those who have met Havens will remember his compassionate nature.”His website said he had kidney surgery years ago and that he never recovered enough to perform concerts like he used to.Richie was famous for his distinctive guitar and singing style and his cover version of Bob Dylan's Just Like A Woman.His performance at the three-day Woodstock, where headliners included Jimi Hendrix, was a turning point in his career.He was the first act on stage, performing for nearly three hours. His performance of Freedom - based on the spiritual Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child - became an anthem.The Woodstock concert film captured his unique style for posterity.Among tributes, Slash from Guns'n'Roses tweeted: "And now I hear Richie Havens has passed on. I grew up with his music. "Artistic free spirit since the 60's. RIP Richie."Radio presenter Danny Baker added: "RIP Richie Havens. Such a shock. A giant to me. Just about the most serene, noble musician I ever met."Richie Havens death winds me more than most of the awful passings we're having to get used to. "Richie returned to the Woodstock site during the 40th anniversary celebrations in 2009."Everything in my life, and so many others, is attached to that train," he said in an interview that year.The singer released more than 25 albums from debut Mixed Bag in 1967 to the last one, 2008's Nobody Left To Crown. He also performed at Bill Clinton's presidential inauguration in 1993 and was in the original stage production of The Who's Tommy.Richie, who was born in Brooklyn, New York City, was eldest of nine children. A public memorial will be planned for a later date.

War heroes buried nearly 100 years on in a corner of a foreign field that is forever England The bodies of the WWI soldiers were found in a field four years ago but were finally laid to rest with full military honours today For nearly 100 years they were listed as missing in action. But today two British war heroes were finally laid to rest with full military honours. The bodies of First World War soldiers Lieutenant John Pritchard and Private Christopher Elphick, of The Honourable Artillery Company (HAC), were found by a French farmer in his field just four years ago. And thanks to jewellery they were both wearing they were not only identified, but living relatives tracked down. Lt Pritchard and Pte Elphick were buried at Ecoust-St Mein near Arras in France, just two miles from where they fell in Bullecourt next to the Hindenburg Line. Relatives of both men, who were killed on May 15, 1917, during an enemy attack while serving with the HAC’s 2nd Battalion, travelled across the Channel for the ceremony where the men, along with two unidentified comrades, received an official farewell. More than 300 people attended the ceremony, including Prince Michael of Kent in his capacity as HAC Royal Honorary Colonel. Their remains were found by elderly farmer Didier Guerle, who had never before ploughed the field on his father’s instructions. First, in 2009, he unearthed one of the soldier’s gas canisters, then dug a little deeper to remove it, finding the decomposed bodies. Honoured at last: Captain John Harold Pritchard Honourable Artillery Company archives Lt Pritchard, who survived the Battle of the Somme where more than a million soldiers on both sides were killed or wounded, and a gunshot wound to the neck, was identified by a silver identity bracelet, and Pte Elphick by a gold signet ring which bears his initials, but it took three years to trace their relatives. Two further sets of remains could not be identified, but they were re-interred at the same time as “HAC soldiers known unto God”. The soldiers’ coffins were draped in the Union flag carried by bearer parties, with the regimental forage cap, belt, and wreath on top, accompanied by the HAC Band. A military firing party fired a salute during the service and afterwards two of Lt Pritchard’s great-nieces and their husbands performed Alfred Lord Tennyson’s Crossing The Bar - which John Pritchard read to his mother and sister before he left for France the final time. The families were presented with the flag covering the coffins, as well as Lt Pritchard’s identity bracelet and Pte Elphick’s signet ring. Lt Pritchard’s family were also given his officer’s sword by an American collector who had come across the sword in the USA, and donated it back to his family. The soldier had the sword made in the September of 1915 while he was recuperating from injury back in Blightly. Lt Pritchard’s nephew John “Harold” Shell, 89, from Winchester, laid a wreath on behalf of the family during the ceremony. He said: “It’s an incredible experience. I can hardly put it into words. It never entered your head that we’d find him, after all these years why should it? “It seems silly to say it but the feeling I had was that he is coming home. He isn’t of course, but that was the feeling.”Mr Shell, who was among more than 30 members of the Pritchard family at the service added: “Unexpectedly to me I was completely overwhelmed, my emotions just took charge. “I envisaged my mother who died some years ago standing there with me. It is a very strange feeling, even talking about it affects me now.” Lt Pritchard’s family only knew of the discovery of his body when his great niece Janet Shell, from Merseyside, typed his name into Google and amazingly saw historians discussing the news on an internet forum. John Harold Pritchard was born in London in March 1886 and at the age of 11 he became a pupil at the prestigious St Paul’s Cathedral School. Something of a Boy’s Own hero, he was captain of cricket and football and eventually head boy, while as a chorister he took part in the Coronation of Edward VII – singing the first performance of Hubert Parry’s anthem I Was Glad. Leaving school in 1903, he started work at the London head offices of the Alliance Assurance Company - today’s Royal Sun Alliance - and in 1909 he signed up for the Army’s oldest regiment, the Honourable Artillery Company. When war broke out in 1914 the insurance company inspector, by then holding the rank of Sergeant, was one of the first wave who went to France to fight. Rising to the rank of Second Lieutenant, he was badly injured in March 1915 and invalided home, where he had a ceremonial sword made and where he was given the chance to remain in a desk job. But he chose to return to his men, and became a temporary Captain in 1916 – even holding the title Major at one point. Lt Pritchard’s great-niece, Janet Shell, 54, from Walton-on- Thames, Surrey, said they had always known about John Harold Pritchard because of a plaque honouring him at St Paul’s Cathedral. She said: “It really is the most momentous thing that could ever happen to a family, and being here today is the culmination of something we have been talking about for 15 months in my family and for many years before by my mother’s generation. “This is bringing it full circle with us all here representing our great-grandmother who connects us all, and gives us somewhere to come in the future for the next generation.” She added: “We’ll now have a grave the family can always visit. He will never be forgotten.” Discoveries: Farmer Didier Guerle with war relics he found in his field
Lt Pritchard never married, but Pte Elphick, a former insurance clerk, left a widow and baby son, Ronald Douglas, who was born in August 1916. Ronald never knew his father, but kept his memory alive for his two sons, Christopher and Martin who travelled to France for the burial with their families. Christopher Elphick, 64, from Cross-In-Hand in East Sussex, said: “It means a tremendous amount to have this wonderful ceremony. We feel incredibly honoured about this. It’s putting an end to a mystery that has been with our family for almost 100 years. “All we knew was that he went missing during the First World War and that was it. "My grandmother and my father were in complete ignorance about the situation and he ended up being found in the strangest way, just out of the blue.” He said the ceremony was “incredibly emotional” and added: “I was virtually in tears in a fair number of places.” Pte Elphick’s family was contacted out of the blue by a stranger who wanted to know if they were in some way related. They went on the Great War Forum website and found that his body had been recovered. DNA samples have been taken from the remains of the two unidentified bodies which authorities hope will allow them to be identified if any of their relatives come forward. About a million soldiers from Britain and the Commonwealth were killed during World War One and around half of them have never been identified. And a poignant memorial in the town of Arras lists the names of 34,725 British men who are still “missing in action.” The Honourable Artillery Company, the oldest regiment in the British Army, was incorporated by Royal Charter in 1537 by King Henry VIII. Its regiments have fought in both world wars and the current Regiment forms part of the Territorial Army.